


Thunderbirds are Go!

by MedieavalBeabe



Category: Thunderbirds (Film), Thunderbirds (TV Series)
Genre: Fanfic, Gen, OC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-07
Updated: 2015-10-20
Packaged: 2018-01-23 21:41:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1580507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MedieavalBeabe/pseuds/MedieavalBeabe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Brains has a daughter as well as a son, and now it's her turn for an adventure on Tracy Island!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Thunderbirds Are Go: Part 1

"And so," Mrs Lewis concluded, "Victoria died at the age of 81, and her son Edward took the throne at the age of 59..."

She was interrupted by the ring of the school bell. Daphne Hackenbacker, who had been daydreaming a little for the last ten minutes, stifled a yawn and picked up her books slowly; compared to her classmates who were rushing out of the room just as Mrs Lewis was trying to shout over them "Don't forget your History projects are expected up on the online notice board next Friday!" 

Daphne lingered so that she could be last to leave the classroom. Hammy, the school hamster, twitched his whiskers as Daphne reached a finger through the bars to stroke him.

"Bye, Hammy," she said with a smile, and then to her teacher "Do you think he'll miss me, Mrs Lewis?"

"I imagine we all will, Daphne," Miss Lewis smiled. 

“Well, I’ll be back after the summer,” Daphne replied. 

"Are you looking forward to your holiday?"

"Yep! Seven weeks of sun, surf and relaxation. I can't wait.” Then, sensing this was a rather tactless thing to say to her school teacher, Daphne added “But that can wait until I’m done with my homework.”

***

“Last newsletter of term!” Roland, the editor, called out, waving copies like a Victorian street urchin. “Anyone? Daphne?”

“Thanks, Roland,” Daphne replied as he thrust the sheet at her. She ran her eyes over it. Apparently some scientists from all parts of the globe were building a rocket they called Sun Probe. 

“Have you seen this, Carter?” she asked, leaning against the ladder he was up.

“Whoa!” Aaron Carter, known to everyone, even the teachers, as “Carter,” wobbled and seized the top of the ladder. “Hey!”

“Oh, sorry.” Daphne moved and turned to him. “What are you doing, anyway?”

Carter grinned and brandished the staple gun he had been entrusted with. “See for yourself.”

“Annual End of Term Party, Common Room, 4.00pm onwards,” Daphne read. She grinned. “Did you mock the poster up yourself? It looks good.”

“Why, thank you.” Carter gave a half bow and clambered back down the ladder. “So, have I seen what?”

Daphne held up the newsletter. “No offence to the people who build these things, but compared to the things my dad and the Tracys work with, things like this just seem so...”

“Ugly,” Carter finished, grimacing somewhat at the picture. 

“I was going to say “crude,” Daphne said. 

“Ugly is better,” Carter replied, tossing the newsletter into the recycling bin. “You coming to the party?”

“As soon as I’ve finished packing.” Daphne grinned. “I can’t have Lady Penelope turn up and me only half packed with everything spilling out of my trunk.”

“I still can’t believe you get to rid home in a Rolls Royce,” Carter said, falling into step beside her.

“Well, it does save Dad coming all the way over from,” Daphne dropped her voice as some giggling first years passed them by, “you know where, when Lady Penelope’s right here in England anyway.”

“You’re so lucky.”

“Well, you never know, Carter. One day you might marry a lady of wealth and status and then you’ll get to drive in a Rolls every day.”

Carter laughed, sarcastically. “Like that’s ever going to happen! Even if I do find a holiday romance this summer, I’m hardly going to meet a lady all the way down in the Cotswolds, am I?”

“You never know!” Daphne laughed back. 

“We’re not all lucky enough to live on the same island as a billionaire,” Carter replied, nudging her. “And his handsome diver son.”

Daphne stopped and Carter was a few paces ahead of her before he noticed. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Daphne asked, shortly. 

“Oh, come on, Daphs,” Carter said, reasonably. “It’s obvious you’re in love with him.”

Stubbornly, Daphne folded her arms in response but didn’t deny it. “It’s not like anything’s ever going to happen there. He just thinks of me like a sister.” Carter gave her a sympathetic look and Daphne pulled herself together again. “Save me a drink,” she said, briskly. “I’m going to go pack.”

“Aye aye, sergeant,” Carter replied, giving her a mock salute. 

***

When Daphne had finished packing everything she needed to take home, she changed from her school uniform into her black jeans, light blue t-shirt, dark blue cardigan and brown trainers. Then, carefully tying her favourite purple scarf around her neck, she set off to find Carter again. He was in the common room amid a whole load of other students who were celebrating with a party that seemed, in the last five minutes, to have turned from mild to wild. Daphne laughed as she was handed a cup of orange juice by Herman who was handing them out left, righ and centre, and she made her way over to Carter, who was on the sofa. 

"Look out, Daphs," he said, nodding over at where a group of students were singing over by the stereo. "They'll be dragging you up next."

"Well, if they request a guitar solo, they'll be sorely disappointed! It's just been packed!"

“Come on!” called Russell, one of the more rowdy students, who already seemed tiddly despite the lack of alcohol at the party. “Rock on!”

Halfway through the song High School Never Ends, to which the whole common room were up and dancing to, the doors suddenly flew open and their headmaster, Mr Styles, entered, looking flustered. 

"Daphne?” he called, over the noise “Daphne Hackenbacker?"

"Here, sir!" Daphne sprang to her feet. 

"Ah, there you are, Daphne. Could you come to my office please?"

Bewildered, Daphne followed Mr Styles and Carter, who was curious to know why someone like Daphne would get called to the headmaster's office on the last day of term, followed her. When Mr Styles opened the door, however, everything became clear as Daphne found herself looking at a beautiful young woman with blonde hair and a kindly smile, dressed entirely in pink. "Hello, Daphne."

"Good afternoon, Lady Penelope," Daphne replied, grinning.

“Are you ready to go?” 

"Just about. I’ll just grab Carter and tell him I’m going."

***

Parker, Lady Penelope's chauffer saluted at the sight of them. Daphne laughed. "Hello, Parker, nice to see you again."

"And good afternoon to you, Miss Hackenbacker." He nodded at Carter. "Master Carter, sir."

"Hello, Parker," Carter grinned, stifling a laugh as usual, because he still found it hard to believe that anyone could be called "Parker." He and Daphne shoved her trunk into the boot of Lady Penelope's pink Rolls Royce, along with her other bags, and then as a group of students crowded around the car in awe, watched closely by Parker, Daphne turned to her best friend. 

"Well, I'll see you when I see you, Carter."

"Email me when you can, ok?"

"I will."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Have fun, Daphne." Carter gave her a hug and then waved as she climbed into the Rolls Royce. Parker started the engine and as the car drove out of sight, Daphne looked back at her school. She would miss it, but just across the ocean where her home was, she knew a whole new series of adventures were about to begin...


	2. Thunderbirds Are Go: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Brains has a daughter as well as a son, and now it's her turn for an adventure on Tracy Island!

“Happy to be going home, Daphne?" Lady Penelope asked her as FAB1 took to the skies. 

"Happy doesn't cover it, Lady P," Daphne replied, settling herself back on the comfortable seats of the Rolls Royce. “Ah!” She gave a sigh of relaxation. “I can’t wait to get back there! I have missed Onaha’s cooking! And the beach!”

"Pardon me, m'lady." Parker always addressed his employer as "M'lady." "Radar indicates we have some company."

Daphne looked around and, sure enough, Thunderbird 1 came soaring alongside them, followed closely by Thunderbird 2. Daphne smiled. There they were, those ever noble machines that she loved so much. It was just a pity that she had never got to fly in one, not yet, anyway. She waved at Scott, who grinned at her. She knew what would happen the second they landed; they'd all leap on her like mad things because they were so happy to see her. 

"Well," Lady Penelope smiled. "It seems like the race is on. Parker, take it up a gear, will you."

"Certainly, m'lady."  


Daphne leaned forwards in her seat, in eager anticipation as the island came into sight. Proud as she was of her Irish heritage (on her late mother’s side) and of boarding in an English school, the island would always be home, and even though it looked exactly the same as when she had left it, she felt suddenly lie a child seeing something it has always dreamed of seeing for the first time in its life. She smiled and relaxed back against the seat.

FAB1 arrived upon Tracey Island before either of the Thunderbird crafts. Daphne unloaded her luggage, declining politely any help from Parker out of fear that he might suddenly strain his back and be unable to drive or indeed serve Lady Penelope in any way. As she pushed open the door and stacked her luggage up beside the nearby plant pot to be collected later, she looked around. The dining room had been laid out with it's best tablecloth and a banner above the kitchen door read "Welcome Home Daphne." She smiled, feeling she was at home at last. 

“Good to be back,” she murmured, tapping the wall nearest to her, as if to check it was real and not some illusion she had dreamed up the night before. 

At that point, Onaha, the housekeeper, come into the room, from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a teatowel. She spotted Daphne and, with a delighted gasp, pulled the girl into a firm hug. 

"Daphne! You're back at last! Look at you! I swear you're getting thinner. Are you sure they are feeding you properly at that school of yours?"

"Well, if they haven't been, I'm sure that's nothing you can't remedy, Onaha!" Daphne laughed. 

"Is that Daphne I hear?" Kyrano, Onaha's husband, Jeff Tracey's manservant, came into the room, a broad smile on his face.  


Daphne went over to hug him. "It's good to see you, Kyrano. The place looks great."

"Well, thank you, Daphne."

At that point, the door to Jeff Tracey's office opened, and Jeff Tracey himself came into the room. He grinned. "Welcome back, Daphne,” he said, bestowing a bear hug upon her. “You've been missed."

“Likewise,” Daphne replied, smiling.

"Hey, Daphne!" Like a stampede of wild animals, four of Jeff's five sons, Scott, Virgil, Gordon and Alan, closely followed by Kyrano and Onaha's daughter Tintin came and swept Daphne, quite literally, off her feet. 

“Put me down!” Daphne laughed, with a squeal. “Are you guys trying to deflower me or something?”

Virgil grimaced. “Oh, get real, Daphs!”

"Aw, Daphne!" Scott shook his head at her. "You grew! Shame on you!" 

"Well, I could say the same for you lot!" Daphne laughed, rolling off the sofa she had landed upon. “Aw, it's good to be back. I’ve missed you guys.”

"Who did you miss most?" Gordon asked. 

"Aw, don't make me choose! Dad!"

Hiram K Hackenbacker, also known as Brains to his friends, had just come into the room, his hair ruffled and his glasses askew as he hurried up to his daughter. Daphne flung herself at him. He laughed and picked her up off the floor. "Hey, sweetie!"

"That’s who she missed most, Gordon!" Alan said, grinning. 

Gordon smiled and said nothing. 

The last to come into the room had been Fermat. Daphne pulled away from her father and looked at her little brother. "Are you too old for hugs yet?"

"No!"

"Oh, good!"

"Hey, Daphs, just to let you know; we're gonna chuck you in the pool at some point later!" Virgil grinned. 

"Fair enough!" Daphne laughed, pulling her little brother into a hug that almost asphyxiated him. It was so good to be home.

***

The family settled around the table to eat; along with Lady Penelope and Parker who had been invited to stay for dinner. To Daphne's delight, Onaha had cooked up her favourite pasta dish. As the conversation went from school to the latest Thunderbird mission, involving a collapsed mine in Malaysia, Daphne watched her family and smile. It was good to be back. 

"You heard about what happened, right?" Scott was saying to her.

"Oh, yeah it was all over the news. And may I just say congratulations, everyone."

"Wasn't easy," Jeff grinned. "One false move and we could have lost more than we saved."

"Hey, Dad, you don't think-"

"No, Alan, I don't!" 

"What?" Daphne asked, her fork halfway to her mouth. 

Gordon rolled his eyes. "Ever since his first mission, Alan's been certain that any wrong-doing in the world is down to the Hood."

"It could have been!" Alan argued. 

"Alan, the Hood's locked up tight in prison in England." Jeff sighed. "Even if he had broken free, someone would have heard about it."

"I've heard nothing," Lady Penelope volunteered. 

"Nor have I." Daphne hesitated, thinking. “Mind you, the main event on British news at the minute is about those children disappearing from that school trip."

"Such a mystery," Lady Penelope agreed. "Did you hear about it, Jeff?"

"Sure did, Penny."

"Kids went missing on a school trip?" Tintin asked.

Daphne took a deep breath. "Down in Warwickshire, that's in the west of England, a class of students were on a school trip to an archeological dig in Stratford; that's where Shakespeare was born," she added as Alan frowned. "They were going to see Shakespeare's home. Anyway, apparently they were being shown around by a new tourguide and their teacher left them to use the bathroom and when she came back, the children and the tourguide had disappeared. No one knew where they had gone and they still don't."

"Pity we can’t do anything,” Gordon sighed. “I mean, we save lives, we don’t solve mysteries.”

"The truth will come out sooner or later, son,” Jeff replied. 

Daphne nodded and quickly reached for her glass, hoping to bring the colour down in her cheeks somewhat. 

***

That evening, after the Tracey brothers had remained true to their word and Daphne had indeed been tossed in the pool as per their tradition, and after Lady Penelope and Parker had said goodbye to everyone and left in FAB1 and Daphne had moved everything that belonged to her into her room and taken several moments to express how glad she was to be back there again, everyone hung about by the pool until the sun began to go down and they began to break off to their respective bedrooms. Daphne waited until she was sure that everyone else was in their rooms, before she logged onto her laptop and adjusted her headpiece as she brought up the webcam that allowed her to talk to her friends.

“Mei Lin, any news?” she asked, once she had logged up all her friends onto the laptop.

Mei Lin, her Chinese friend, and who was very technologically advanced for her age, shook her head. “Negative, I’m afraid. No fingerprints on the card that was left there, no footprints, not even a tiny flake of dandruff; very thorough, those people.”

Daphne sighed. “Damn it! Always the way!”

"I’ve got the description from my uncle, though,” said Carter. His uncle was a policeman, and, with Meilin’s help, he was easily able to log into police archives. The four friends had taken it upon themselves to try and solve this mystery but it was proving very difficult thus far. 

Carter read the description out loud to them. “In the street at the time the only people around were a woman dressed in ill-fitting black clothes and a man dressed in some kind of robe or kimono; both caucasian, the man bald, brown eyes, the woman red haired with glasses and large teeth. The teacher said that the new tourguide was black and tall and oddly well-built for such a job..."

"Why would a man wear a kimono or robe in Stratford?" Paolo asked for the fiftieth time since they had received the description. "Doesn't make sense."

"And the only other clue we've got is that mysterious card with a picture of a red cat's eye on it and nothing else,” Carter sighed.

"Hold up, Carter.” Daphne furrowed her brow, remembering Fermat’s description of the Hood and his cronies. “I think I might have some kind of match for you.”

***

When Daphne had finished her tale, her friends sat silently for a minute, letting the information sink in. Then Carter said "He's in prison, then, this man, the Hood?"

"Yes, not far from you.” Daphne grinned. “Better run a background check on him, although from the way he tried to take over the island and kill my family, I think it puts him in the running for main suspect.”

"We should run background checks on his cronies as well," Meilin added. “We can get their information from your uncle, Carter.”

“I can help there,” put in Paolo, and Daphne and Carter exchanged a smile. It was completely obvious that he had a crush on Meilin, to everyone but her, it seemed.

"Meanwhile,” Daphne went on, with a nod, “I'll keep an eye on the Thunderbirds in case they have any more encounters with him. If he is behind it, it's a given he's broken out of jail somehow and we've not heard about it."

“Probably all been covered up,” Carter nodded. “Ok. Goodnight, team.”

“Night,” the others chorused and Daphne switched off her machine, thinking hard. The Hood had made it plain, hadn’t he, that he wanted revenge on the Thunderbirds. Now he seemed to have given up on that idea and turned to kidnapping children, but for what? For what?

She lay down on her bed and stared at the opposite wall until tiredness overcame her and she drifted into a deep and dreamless sleep...


	3. Thunderbirds Are Go: Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Brains has a daughter as well as a son, and now it's her turn for an adventure on Tracy Island!

The next morning, Daphne rose before anyone else and skipped merrily into the kitchen. 

“Morning, Daphne,” Onaha greeted her, warmly, sliding a plate full of pancakes soaked in maple syrup in front of her. “I made your favourite.”

“Aw, thank you,” Daphne smiled back. “I’ve missed having pancakes for breakfast. These last few months I’ve been living off Weetabix. Still,” she added, on reflection, “at least it keeps you regular.”

“Oh-oh!” groaned Gordon, stumbling into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes.

Onaha looked up at him. “Morning to you too, sleepyhead.”

“Is it?” Gordon groaned, stumbling to a seat. “Feels like the middle of the night.”

“Did you not sleep?” Daphne asked, surprised. 

“Nah.” Gordon shook his head. “Just kept tossing and turning, you know.” He ran a hand through his hair and Daphne giggled. “What?” he asked, eyeing her.

“Your hair; looks like you’ve been electrocuted!” Daphne smiled, patting it down for him. 

Gordon smiled, tiredly. Sitting this close to her, it was hard not to disclose his feelings for her there and then. He took a deep breath. “Listen, Daphs, I was wondering-”

"Hey!" Virgil came breezing into the room, followed by Scott. 

“Hey, guys,” smiled Daphne, popping a forkful of pancakes into her mouth. “Mm, these are delicious,” she added to Onaha.

"You alright, Gordon?" Scott asked, frowning.

"Just fine," Gordon muttered. 

“Now, who’d like a breakfast smoothie?” Onaha asked, busying herself in the kitchen.

“I’ll take one,” called Scott.

“I’ll take six!” added Virgil.

Daphne laughed and turned to Gordon. “Sorry, what were you about to say?”

"I've forgotten," he lied, turning to talk to Scott. 

***

It was a little after one o'clock when it happened. John's signal came through sure and clear and everyone, literally everyone, darted into the office. Jeff pressed the intercom button. "Go ahead, John."

"Dad, I've just had a call from London. They've got a building collapsing and people still inside. We're gonna need Thunderbirds 1 and 2 and probably the Mole."

"Right; Scott, Virgil, Alan, Tintin, Fermat, you know what to do."

"We're on it, Dad!" Scott said, already on his way to Thunderbird 1.

"How bad's the damage, John?"

"They didn't say. It's a pretty bad signal."

Daphne had a thought. "Mr Tracy, my friend Carter lives in London. I could call him and ask if he knows anything."

"That's a very good idea, Daphne."

***

Carter answered on the third ring. "What's up, Daphs? Don't tell me you've got background checks on the Hood and his thugs already?"

"Never mind that, Carter. The Thunderbirds are on their way to that collapsed building near you. I need you tell me how bad the damage is."

"What collapsed building?"

"Well...I don't know. The one that's collapsed. Check the news."

"Daphs, the news is on and there's nothing on it about a collapsed building."

"But there has to be. We just got a call about it."

"I'm telling you, Daphs; there's no collapsed building."

Daphne froze slightly. No collapsed building? But they'd had a call about it. That could only mean one thing...

"Daphne?" Carter sounded concerned. "Are you ok?"

"Carter, thanks, you've been a great help. I'll talk to you soon, very soon! And do me a favour; check with your uncle about whether the Hood’s still behind bars!"

She hung up before he could answer. Sudden realisation had struck her. Daphne darted back to the office. 

***

"Mr Tracy!"

Jeff looked up as she came in. "Well?"

Daphne panted, trying to get her breath. "There's not...there's no...you have to call Scott and the others back."

"What?"

"There's no collapsed building."

"We just got a call about it."

"Well, Carter says there isn't a building collapsing. It must be some kind of trick or false alarm or something. You have to call them back now or else-!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Jeff."

Daphne, Gordon, Brains and Jeff all turned on the spot. "You!" Jeff all but snarled. "You got out of jail?"

"Amazing, isn't it"? said the man standing in front of them. Behind him his assistants, Transome and Mullian stood and behind them were several armed guards. 

"What are you doing here?" Gordon shot at them, starting towards them.

"The same as I was last time; trying to take over control of the Thunderbirds, of course; it's Gordon, isn't it? I say, Jeff, you and your late wife really did like the old fashioned names, didn't you?"

"You’ve got no right to be on this island!" Jeff snapped. “Or to use the Thunderbirds for your own selfish gains!”

"Oh, Jeff, haven't we already been down this road? Haven't you realised that I would always come back, prepared?" He snapped his fingers and the guards behind him moved towards the others. 

Gordon, Kyrano, Onaha and Brains ducked behind the desk with Jeff, as if it could shield them, but Daphne stood her ground. She folded her arms. "I'm usually against violence, but I think you ought to turn around right now and get off the island, otherwise things could get really messy for you and your pals.”

"And you must be...of course, you’re Daphne, aren't you?" The Hood looked over at Brains. "She looks more like her mother than you, of course?"

"I'm guessing you're the Hood?"

"You guess correctly, Daphne."

Daphne threw a glance over her shoulder. Somehow she need to get to the wall without letting the Hood know what it was she was doing. Thinking quickly, she darted forwards. One of the guards advanced on her, gun raised.

"No!" Gordon yelped. 

Daphne backed away. "Should have known you'd be too clever to fall for that."

She backed towards the wall. Now pressed against it, her trembling fingers found the hidden keypad. The combination, what was it...?

"Enough of this." The Hood turned to his guards. "Take them all to the ship.”

That was it! She had it now. Defiant and triumphant, she raised her chin. “Fine. Just don’t bank on us coming quietly!” 

The hidden door of the wall flew open. A beam of red light, like a laser beam, cut through the air and caught the guard that had been advancing on Daphne squarely in the chest. He fell to the ground at once. Startled, Gordon looked around. In a square cupboard in the wall, what looked like a miniaturised light sabre on a tripod was firing lasers left, right and centre as it swivelled around like something from a laser light show.

“Daphs, what is that?” he exclaimed. 

“My Year 8 Science project!” Daphne replied, coolly holding up what looked like a tiny remote, clearly to control the laser projector. “And also the reason I got a month’s detention that year!”

"Get them!" the Hood bellowed, avoiding one blast from the laser. 

"Look out!" Gordon cried, seizing Daphne and dragging her out of the way as Mullion advanced on them. He looked up, slightly fearful. Mullion was a good two feet taller than he was but he had to do something to fight him off. 

“Dad!” shouted Daphne, urgently. 

Brains was already unlocking the secret door that led to the secret lift. "G-g-g- on it's way down!"

"Everybody in!" Jeff commanded.

“Easy for you to say, Dad!” Gordon cried, seizing a chair to defend himself with.

Jeff noticed what was going on but before he could make any kind of move towards Mullion, Daphne had seized another chair and hurled it at him. Mullion was knocked to the ground as another laser beam took down Transom. 

“Thanks!” Gordon exclaimed, stunned at her sudden strength. 

Daphne tossed her hair, coolly. “I’m not just another pretty face.”

“Get in the lift!” Jeff cried. 

Gordon ran to but Daphne backed towards her laser, wielding the remote. The Hood, however, seemed to be able to deflect any of the blasts directed at him. “Daphne, Daphne,” he said in a silky tone, “it doesn’t have to be this way. I can see you’re an intelligent young girl, good at science. I’m sure we can come to some kind of agreement.”

“I highly doubt that!” Daphne exclaimed, trying one last attempt to shoot a laser at him. By some incredible power of telekinesis, however, the Hood whipped the remote from her hand and then, with incredible strength, crushed it to pieces. 

“Daphs!” shouted Gordon, urgently, as the laser began to spin, uncontrollably firing at everything in its path, the Hood included. This time he wasn’t quick enough to deflect the blast, weakened from using his powers. Daphne felt Gordon seize her hand and drag her inside the lift as it shot downwards, down, but where, Gordon wondered, were they going to end up?


	4. Thunderbirds Are Go: Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Brains has a daughter as well as a son, and now it's her turn for an adventure on Tracy Island!

"Dad, what the heck is going on?" Gordon asked as the small lift they had all climbed into shot them down into the depths of the island. 

Jeff glanced at Brains. "I think it'd be better if Daphne told you that."

Gordon glanced at her, but before she could answer, the lift door opened and Gordon looked around. They were standing in an underground metal room, like some kind of bunker or nuclear fallout shelter; except nuclear fallout shelters didn't usually tend to have enormous great computers with three screens stuck on the back wall. 

"Whoa!" Gordon exclaimed. "How long have we had this?"

"About ten years," his father replied. 

"This is incredible! But how does it work?"

Brains, looking pleased with the compliment, reached over to a strange looking device, like a carving made from some kind of metal, which looked something like a small bridge and waved his hand beneath it. The biggest computer screen flickered to life almost at once. "Good morning, Daphne," a voice said and the image of a woman appeared. She was quite beautiful and somehow familiar.

Gordon turned to Daphne and Brains. “Is that-?”

Brains nodded and adjusted his glasses. 

Daphne threw herself into the rather comfortable looking black swivel chair situated beneath the medium sized screen and waved her own hand to activate, what Gordon assumed was, the virtual mouse. "Password required," the computer said. Daphne tapped lightly at the keyboard and the screen quickly turned dark blue, streaked with lightning patterns and then what looked like a call log came up. Daphne quickly clicked on the three numbers she needed. 

“Seriously, what is going on?” Gordon exclaimed. 

“Here!” Daphne thrust a microphone at Jeff and pointed him to the smallest screen. “You can radio Thunderbird 1; just tap in the frequency.” Then, she turned to Gordon. “I think you’d better sit down. This could take a while.”

“We haven’t got a while,” Gordon pointed out, sinking into a chair. “The Hood’s on the island – who knows what he’ll do to-”

He broke off at the sound of something shattering upstairs. 

“There goes my laser,” Daphne sighed, trying not to feel too upset. 

“Daphs?” Carter’s voice came through the speakers and Gordon jumped. Daphne flicked the mouse and three images appeared on the screen; the first being Carter, the others being two people Gordon didn’t know. “What’s going on? You hung up on me, girl!”

“Yeah, well, get your heads around this,” Daphne said, propping her elbows on the table. “The Hoods has not only escaped from prison, but he’s here. Now. On the island.”

“Seriously?” Paolo exclaimed. 

“Yeah, he just broke my laser.”

“No, not your beautiful laser,” Carter said in a tone of mock mourning. 

“Shut up,” Daphne sighed, shaking her head. “Look, make yourself useful and get onto your uncle. Tell him there’s an escaped psychopath possibly behind the disappearance of those kids in Stratford.”

“You’ve got proof?” exclaimed Mei Lin.

“No, but I’m going to get it. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Ah, but-” Carter was cut off as Daphne clicked the End Call button and swivelled around to face Gordon. “Life’s too short to be nice to your teammates.”

“Teammates?” Gordon shook his head. “What are you; a spy or something?”

“Nah, just a detective.”

“Thunderbird 1, come in, Scott!” Jeff shook his head. “It’s no good; there’s too much static. Something must be interfering with the signal.”

“Something or s-s-s-someone,” agreed Brains. 

Gordon stared at Daphne. “What; are you like Sherlock Holmes or something?”

Daphne almost giggled. “Something like that.” Sobering up, she fixed her face into a serious expression. “To explain properly, I’d need to go back ten years ago. Do you ever remember hearing about some freak electric storm that happened all over the world; caused great craters in the ground and stuff?”

Gordon nodded. “Yeah, I remember – John’s first mission.”

“Well, people got hit by the lightning, all over the world. I was one of them.” Daphne unwound her scarf and showed him the jagged scar that looked something like a deep red crack in her skin. “I could have died, but somehow I didn’t. When I woke up, I could just do things like build working and potentially dangerous lasers at the age of twelve and rig up this computer system.”

“You built this?”

Daphne nodded. “And I’m not the only one it happened to. Carter, Mei Lin, Paolo; they all got affected by the storm too, but in different ways. Mei Lin’s got this brilliant sense of empathy; she can tell how a person’s really feeling just by looking at them. Paolo got X-Ray vision, and Carter’s got this sort of form of clairvoyance, so he can look through someone else’s eyes and see what they’re doing. And me, well, mind of a brilliant scientist, basically.” 

Gordon blinked at her. “Sorry, and you, what, use your abilities to solve mysteries?”

“From time to time, yeah.”

“They were employed by s-s-s-a person in the British Government t-t-t-in order to help out with some of their more d-d-d-harder cases,” Brains interjected. 

“Who?” Gordon asked. 

“We don’t know; we’ve never met her. Just a woman who calls herself Peregrine. Hey, that’s a thought.” Daphne swivelled around to make a call to Carter again. “Hey, I need a quick favour.”

“I won’t do it if you keep hanging up on me,” Carter grumbled. 

“Can you just put yourself in the Hood’s shoes and find out what he’s up to? Please?”

Carter sighed and then, folding his arms, he focused on a particular spot in the room. “Ok, he’s standing by a desk in a room with pictures of men.”

“My office,” Jeff intervened. 

“What’s he doing?” Gordon asked. 

Carter hesitated. “Wait, he’s talking. To some guy in black...he said “Cheddar Gorge.” 

“Cheddar Gorge?” Daphne repeated. “Well, why?”

“He wants them to take the Thunderbirds out there...and now the black guy’s laughing and saying something about “those little school brats...”

Daphne snapped her fingers. “The missing kids! Well, now you have proof for Peregrine. Get onto her! We’ve got to get out there!”

“How?” Gordon exclaimed. “We don’t have Thunderbird 2! I mean, Thunderbird 4 could make it, if there was any way of launching her!”

“There m-m-might be a way,” Brains interjected. 

“Whoa, Daphs!” exclaimed Carter, just as a loud thump from above caused them all to look to the lift in terror. “He’s now watching some other guys try to break down part of the wall!”

“Yeah, way ahead of you there, Carter,” Daphne replied, clambering out of her chair and shutting down the computer. “Let’s get out of here.”

“We have to find a way of contacting Scott and the others,” Jeff added as they hurried down a corridor. 

“Maybe we can radio them from Thunderbird 4 if we get out of range from the island,” Gordon said. 

“It’s worth a shot,” Jeff considered. “So, Brains, what do you have in mind?”

As Brains began to stammer his way through an explanation, Gordon glanced at Daphne. She was being so casual about all of this, he resolved to ask her just how many times she had had to get involved with some big mystery like this. “Daphs,” he muttered, “how come you never told any of us about this?”

“Because getting involved in stuff like we do is pretty dangerous,” she replied. “We’ve had about six near death experiences each! Plus, we’re really not meant to spread around Government secrets, which is kind of what we are, really.”

“Yeah, well, you’ve never told any of our secrets, so we won’t tell any of yours,” Gordon said. 

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Daphne smiled and squeezed his arm. “Thanks, Gordon, you’re brilliant.” 

Jeff glanced at them, warily. “Come on, you two; we’ve got a mission to complete!”


	5. Thunderbirds Are Go: Part 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Brains has a daughter as well as a son, and now it's her turn for an adventure on Tracy Island!

“So, is there anything else you haven’t told me?” Gordon asked as Brains opened a panel in the wall and they all hurried through it, well, straight after Daphne had just pulled the plug on her super computer. (“I can mend it in a flash,” she had explained, “and I’d rather it was me that broke it than the Hood and his thugs.”)

 

Daphne flushed, because of course there was something she hadn’t told him, but right now really wasn’t the time.

 

“No, of course not,” she insisted.

 

Gordon shook his head. “You know your nose twitches when you tell a lie, right?”

 

“How do you know?” Daphne asked in surprise.

 

It was Gordon’s turn to flush.

 

“H-H-Here it is,” Brains stammered, snapping on some lights. “I’ve been working on this for f-f-f-”

 

“Five years,” Daphne put in for him.

 

Brains nodded at her.

 

“The Shadow?” Jeff smiled. “It’s finally ready?”

 

“N-n-n-just about, Mr Tracy,” Brains replied.

 

Gordon stared at the craft. Daphne hadn’t been exaggerating when she had told Carter that all the Thunderbirds crafts were sleek and elegant, but this one truly was. A small black jet, big enough for just two people, with an elongated nose and after burner extensions; it looked like a Thunderbird craft, even though it was one he had never seen before.

 

“The Shadow?” he repeated.

 

“Actually, I was p-p-p-hoping to call it the Th-Thunderbird Shadow, or Thunderb-b-bird S,” Brains confessed.

 

Jeff smiled. “It’s beautiful, Brains, you’ve really done a good job.”

 

“Purely for t-t-transportation purposes,” Brains explained to Gordon. “Fast enough to d-d-d-vanish from view in a matter of seconds, hence the name Shadow.”

 

Gordon nodded. “It’s amazing.” Then, he glanced at Daphne. “Can you fly it?”

 

“Well, I’ve taken it for test-runs, but it’s never actually left the island,” Daphne replied.

 

“Until now.” Jeff turned to them both. “You two are our last hope. You need to get out and radio Thunderbird 5.”

 

“But what about you?” Gordon asked.

 

“We’ll try and hold them off as long as possible.” Jeff fixed them both with a serious look. “I trust you two. Go on, now, go. We’ll be fine. Right, Brains?”

 

“S-s-s-absolutely,” Brains agreed, although he looked nervous.

 

Daphne sensed that it was pointless to argue, so she nodded. “We’ll send the others back to you.”

 

Jeff nodded and as she climbed up into the cockpit, he saluted her. “Good luck, you two.”

 

Gordon followed Daphne and climbed into the seat behind hers. “Buckle up,” she instructed.

 

“Damn,” Gordon muttered, doing as she told him, “I should have brought my-”

 

Then, he was cut off as Daphne pressed a button on the dashboard and his International Rescue suit appeared in a fold out drawer beside him, folded up and ready.

 

“It’s your spare,” she explained.

 

Gordon blinked. “We have spares?”

 

Daphne closed the roof of the cockpit and turned to see Jeff and Brains signalling them both to go. Brains had already opened the shutters that led to the hidden launch runway around the back of the island. With a final nod that said more than it should have conveyed, she pushed the lever to power up the craft.

 

Thunderbird Shadow moved smoothly, and Gordon had to agree with Jeff that Brains had done a wonderful job with it. It was soon building up power, and then as they reached the end of the runway, Daphne put it into flight-mode. It took off into the sky without any turbulence, just like Thunderbirds 1, 2 and 3. It was perfectly streamlined, perfectly balanced, just perfect.

 

And so was the driver.

 

Gordon felt a twinge inside as he remembered the day he had realised he actually had feelings for Daphne, three years ago. It had been after she had come home for spring break and he had taken a look at her and suddenly realised that he was actually seeing her as a woman for the first time in their lives. It had made his heart race, made him feel socially awkward around her, and whenever he had seen her in her swimming costume, well, that had had quite an effect on him too. He knew he had always felt this way about it, but he had only realised it then.

 

Now for the first time in ages, they were actually alone together, this could be his chance, although he could have picked a better moment, but then...

 

He took a deep breath. “Daphs-”

 

“I think we’re out of range now,” Daphne interrupted. “Do you want to try John on the radio?”

 

Gordon noticed the radio beside his knees and decided that she was right, it was best to focus on the matter at hand for now and sort out his feelings for her later. He picked up the radio.

 

“Yeah,” he muttered in answer to her question, and then to the radio “Thunderbird 5, come in!” And then, just for the hell of it, he decided to use the common phrase most people used when they needed the Thunderbirds to help them. “Calling International Rescue.”

 

The radio crackled and then John’s voice came through loud and clear.

 

“International Rescue receiving you. Gordon, is that you?”

 

Gordon breathed out. “Yeah.”

 

“Where are you?”

 

Gordon glanced down at the sea below them. “It’s kind of a long story. You need to call back Scott and the others. The call was a trick. The Hood’s on the island.”

 

He could almost see his brother’s expression as he replied “Right. Is everyone ok?”

 

“As far as I can tell,” Gordon replied. “Daphne and I are on our way to England. We’ve found out the Hood’s behind those kids going missing.”

 

“Right, I’ll tell Scott to follow you there,” Gordon replied.

 

“FAB,” Gordon nodded and cut off the call. The sooner John got hold of the others the better. He quickly began to yank his suit on over the clothes he was already wearing. Daphne waited until he had finished before she ventured a nervous “Think they can get there in time?”

 

“I hope so.” Gordon glanced at her and realised she really was worried. He touched her shoulder, gently. “It’ll be fine. We’ve taken on the Hood before and won.” Daphne nodded. “I’m sorry about your laser, by the way. That was pretty cool.”

 

She shrugged. “It’s alright, I can rebuild it.” Then, she turned, briefly, to look at him and smiled. “Thanks, though.”

 

“How long ‘til we reach England?”

 

“A few more minutes. Even if the Hood left the island the same time we did, we’d still get there first.”

 

Gordon nodded and reached into his toolbelt, checking that the pistol he kept there was fully loaded. It was just a precaution, his Dad always said, and yet in quite a few of their missions he had ended up using it for protection and self-defence.

 

Now he really had a reason to worry, though, with Daphne with him.

 

He’d protect her. With his life.

 

“Get ready for touchdown,” Daphne broke into his thoughts.

 

Gordon sat up a little straighter. “Crikey, that was _only_ a few minutes.” Then, he added, “Hey, Daphs?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Any ideas what we do when we find those kids?”

 

Daphne blanched and shook her head. “Um...no. You?”

 

“Nope,” Gordon replied. “Guess we’re just going to have to wing it. Hey,” he added, seeing her doubtful look, “we’re International Rescue, we can do this.”

 

Daphne sighed. “If you say so.”


End file.
